khall--I'm glad Joplin is OK. This weather has been wrecking havoc on the horses every which way, so hopefully just passing.
Thanks for the feedback on the test. That's kind of how I felt. Conservative, but I thought the extended canter was fab. I've been working on the little stuff. Aleuronix--I'm with you on the score. That's what I thought it was. So the Arab (no dissing, but he was being a bugger) literally did none of movements and spun away. He got a 55%. I got a 53%. Yeah. "Highlights"--5's on, SI, transitions from ext., SI, volte, walk pirouette, coll. walk, ext. walk, canter trans.,; 5.5's volte, ext. trot., HP, flying change (that sucker was lovely), canter pir.; a 4 on the 4 tempis.; 6's on halt (argh!), HP, walk pr., canter pir., flying change, extended canter (!!!), flying change; 6.5 on the last halt, and a 7 on the changes every 4. Yeah.
This was so whacko I don't even know what to do. The Arab went back in and did another PSG test, much better. She got a 52%--so 3% less than the really bad test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX6M0CY6HE4 This is the I-1. 58% The only 7 is that last canter to trot transition (that was at least an 8.) This test seemed very like the ones at the last show where we won the classes and got 67%.
I saw the scores on Sat., and a lot of 50's, and show not even close to filled. This was the judge, Cristel Carlson, who gave Quinn 63%'s in Oct, and Quilla a 52% on an error free I-2 test and a 2 on the trot half passes because she messed up, and a 56% on an OK GP test. So, I'm bucking it up and going back and going to do better! Right? Even less people on Sunday, and an intro A got a 56%. I did something I have never done in my 40 years of showing dressage--I scratched Quilla. I went in and rode the tests over lunch for myself (and the judge came in at the end and was watching because my tests were right after lunch) and left. I don't mind getting beaned, but none of this even makes sense, and I don't need Quilla to have an average 55% because of one judge.
The comments don't even makes sense to me. There was lot of not engaged stuff, but a lot of little nagging comments to justify. A bizarre one was the ext. walk where she put "Uses nudges rather than spur, horse disrupted." I am NOT spurring my horses to walk! On the canter pirouettes, which were nice, "need to accept weight, more jump" "jumping together, hollow." Ext. canter"needs uphill thrust." You know who she loved? You can see the chestnut warming up in the PSG video. The one the is broken at the 5th or 6th vertebra? His whole test was curled like that, but the legs were going really fast! And the bay who was broken at the 3rd vertebra the whole test at least got over 60.
Not to be bitching, but OMG, this is why I am at the end of the line with showing. One of the reasons I scribed SO much last year is I really wanted to get a perspective. I scribed for her, and she's a really nice lady, but I do not get it. I know Mike Osinksi and scribe for him most years, so I think I have it down. I generally like his perspective. It's an overall score, and it's not about listing errors or bobbles. Any horse can have them. And his comments are very vague, but now I get it. It's about a few major things, like tempo, balance, engagement. (That's usually all I would write for each movement--one word.) Most judges give a lot of detail in each movement and really want to be helpful, but it is too easy to become nitpicky, and these tend to be the lower judges.
Anyway, I was happy with both girls. And I think I am looking a little better? I am REALLY trying to stay relaxed in my seat and not tense at all--I noticed if I sit too deep on either or tighten my butt, they both tend to swap out behind. So I have actually been holding myself out of the saddle a little in things like tempi changes and pirouettes. And I think I look a lot better in my shoulders here--I know I tend to slump them forward and "give" when I get nervous.
Thanks for reading my book. I will hopeful get the scores I need for the champs in the few local shows for champs. and not have to go looking for "higher" judges because the money for gas to drive is too much. I hope all of the detail is helpful to others to learn!